


taming the beast

by orphan_account



Series: the monster's companion [1]
Category: Durarara!!
Genre: AU, AU Where Things Go Differently After HS, Bi-Daily to Daily Updates, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, First chapter is just an introduction, M/M, Shizaya - Freeform, Slow Burn, They're 20, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 06:16:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12184533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: A year and a half after high school ends, Izaya decides that it's in his best interest to fix things.





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> This is just an introduction to set up the plot! Chapters will be longer from here on out!

It had been a year and a couple of months since Izaya had been chased out of his graduation. Things had changed a lot in that time.

He had watched as his classmates grew up, starting families settling down with others and getting long-term jobs. They had gotten happy with their boring, repetitive lives. _'They hadn't really changed at all, though,'_ Izaya mused to himself, grabbing the last of his boxes from the moving truck.

While everyone he had known had been working so hard to make themselves into solid citizens, Izaya had been working on making himself into a feared man. He had begun working with the yakuza after a bit of searching around, getting into the informant business. He was more useful than he had originally thought, it turned out. That would explain the money rolling in in droves, wouldn't it?

He had moved into his Ikebukuro office just recently, getting himself an apartment, deciding to work out of that city rather than just Shinjuku. The business flowed much more nicely, after all, and there were much better things to observe in the crowded neon-lit streets of Ikebukuro.

It was prettier, anyway, than his old office had ever been.

Bigger, too!

Izaya sat down in his office chair, sliding across the wood floor, spinning in front of the TV and turning it on. What could he get to be a part of tonight? Where would he even start with these new humans? The news would help him figure that out, he was sure. Whatever was going on tonight would give him a good outlook on the city, wouldn't it?

Turning the electronic on, Izaya wasn't surprised by the sight.

Ikebukuro's West Gate Park destroyed, Shizuo Heiwajima at fault. After being approached by a gang, the brute had completely wrecked the entire park and everyone who had approached him! A smile played on his lips and he nodded his head. Sounded like Shizu-chan. Flutters began to surface in Izaya's stomach, excited emotions that he thought he'd never feel again, and he shook them away, grabbing his jacket and pulling it on on his way out of the door.

_It was time to bail the monster out of his cell, wasn't it?_

After all, he could use to be on **Ikebukuro's fortissimo's** good side!

Izaya showed up at the police station around two hours after Shizuo's arrest went public, waltzing in, practically bouncing with each step that he took. It had been a while since he had played with the beast, and this would be a good way to set their game back into motion. No. _That wasn't what he had come here for_ , he reminded himself, pulling his wallet out to gather the funds to post bail.

He was here to fix things.

Poking the beast would only result in his work being disturbed, after all.

Shizuo had always been his favorite being to observe. He wasn't someone that Izaya had the capability of predicting, and truly? Izaya hadn't wanted to be able to predict Shizuo. Having someone exciting around, someone he could play with _and_  enjoy doing it? It was exactly what Izaya had needed in high school.

Actually, Shizuo might have been the reason Izaya was so good at what he did now.

Waiting, patiently, for Shizuo to get released, Izaya watched the door, a lazy smile playing at his lips and mischief in his eyes. This was going to be fun.

**_He couldn't wait to see the beast's face when he realized it was him._ **


	2. the first encounter

It didn't take long to get Shizuo from his cell.

The blonde was exhausted, yes, but anger pulsed through him like the blood pulsed through his veins. He didn't understand what had happened. How could he have? He had just been walking, minding his own business, and a gang of people had jumped out at him. There was only one explanation for that, he knew, but it didn't make any sense.

_He hadn't seen that flea since graduation-!_

Nevertheless, Izaya's name kept flitting through Shizuo's mind, a mantra that broke the silence of his thoughts. The black-haired, no good, plotting, evil, life-ruining little blood-sucking pest must have been the reason he was behind bars right now. He hadn't been targeted like that in years!

Life had almost been peaceful again. He had just recently gotten a permanent job, after all. God, what was Kasuka going to say when he found out? There was no way that he was going to be able to keep his job bartending after this little incident. **Izaya.** It had to be his fault-! His brother had spent so much on these uniforms, had trusted him to keep his job, and Izaya had stepped in and ruined it!

One of the cell's bars bent under his grip, and he took a breath, forcing himself to calm down. He couldn't afford to break anything else. He couldn't pay for the city damages he already had under his belt for tonight, he didn't need to add bills from the jail to it.

When an officer came to retrieve him from his confinement, Shizuo's brows furrowed, a look of pure confusion breaking through the anger that had painted his face. He had called Kasuka to post bail an hour ago, and there was no way that he could have showed up so quickly. That meant that someone else was here, didn't it? Who would be here? Who, that cared enough to post bail, would have known about this? Shinra came to mind first, but that was scratched immediately.

No, he knew who was here.

**_It was Izaya._ **

Shizuo's suspicions were confirmed as soon as he entered the lobby. A figure dressed in all black sat in one of the chairs, rising as soon as Shizuo walked in, a grin painting his face as he practically skipped over. Slowly, very slowly, the blonde's vision went red. Rage.

_Kill, kill, kill, kill, **killkillkillkill-**_

It had been forever since the stronger male had felt so murderous. Only Izaya had ever been to provoke these emotions from him, and he had never appreciated that. He just wanted to live a peaceful life. A peaceful, nonviolent, life. He wanted to be a good person. He wanted to use this strength he had been given for good, rather than let it control him, but his anger had always bested him.

It seemed that _every single time_ he had thought he had learned to control it, Izaya **ruined** it.

Walking up to the noiret, Shizuo grabbed his wrist, dragging him from the building and to the nearest ATM. His grip, he knew, was strong enough to shatter the thinner man's wrist, but he didn't care. He had to even this out. He didn't want Izaya to use this against him. He didn't care if he had to drain his whole savings account, he would **not** be in debt to Orihara Izaya even if it meant fucking **_starving-!_**

He, with shaking hands, carefully withdrew thousands of Yen from his savings account. He was trembling with anger as he handed a large amount of money to his sworn enemy. That was all he had. He was already fucking starving to death, from what it seemed, living on barely enough money to get by, and this flea had to waltz in and take it all.

_"I don't owe you for this, **I-za-ya.** Take it. Get out of my sight before I kill you."_

 

* * *

 

 

Izaya had never been so **happy.**

Seeing Shizuo so worked up again because of him, watching those eyes cloud over with the rage that he knew only he could cause, knowing that he would rather be utterly broke than have to be in Izaya's debt? That was more than enough payment for the smaller. He didn't need this money. He didn't even want it. He decided that his original plan, fixing things, would be just as fun as poking the beast had been in high school.

It was going to be a challenge, though, he knew. Shizuo was already so angry at him, and he hadn't even done anything yet! Izaya shook his head as he shoved the currency back to the larger, a grin playing at his lips, his eyes full of amusement. Shizuo was losing it. He was already about to rip an ATM out of the ground, and Izaya hadn't even **spoken.**

The thrill in his stomach was something Izaya had missed dearly, he realized, looking for the words to use to calm the monster. It probably wouldn't take much, he assumed, seeing as none of this was directly his fault.

That made him wonder.

_Did Shizuo blame him for all of this?_ **Probably.**

Izaya leaned up against the wall next to Shizuo, his red eyes dragging up and down the taller's form, relishing in the anger that shook through his body. He was far from human, just as Izaya remembered. No human would react like this to being bailed out of jail, after all! He had done Shizuo a favor, hadn't he? He had freed him from a cell, and the beast was acting like ** _he_** was the criminal!

_"No, Shizu-chan, that's far from necessary! I had more than enough to pay for that, really. Keep your money."_

The smaller pulled his wallet out, showing that he did, in fact, have at least double the amount of Shizuo's bail cost still securely in his wallet... in cash. He had more than that, at least ten times more than that, in his checking account. The information broker business brought in more than enough money to live off of, after all.

Shizuo's eyes flicked to Izaya's wallet, looking at the money presented, and then they returned to Izaya's face, confusion and anger still present in his eyes. He didn't speak, though. He didn't know what this meant. Was Izaya trying to keep him in debt? Whatever the flea had in mind, he wasn't going to allow it.

Izaya didn't get to control him.

_" **See?** There's no need for you to give me that money, Shizu-chan. I'm here for peaceful reasons, anyway. It isn't very good to have **Ikebukuro's fortissimo** on my bad side, after all. I want to fix things!"_

Izaya grinned as Shizuo frowned, his eyes alight with mischief, ill intent spread all over his features. Shizuo was doubtful. Of course he was. He didn't believe the flea's call for peace in the slightest. Izaya didn't know what peace was, did he?

The blonde couldn't do anything yet, though.

He didn't want to be the first one to start the fight. This was Izaya's fault. He wouldn't play into his hand, but he wouldn't stoop to his level. He had to let this play out. What Izaya said next, though, confused the hell out of him.

_"Hi, my name is Orihara Izaya, would you like to be **friends?** "_

Looking at the noiret's outstretched hand, at the genuine expression he wore, Shizuo's anger faltered. Maybe he was **wrong** about Izaya. Maybe he actually wanted to work this out now. He hadn't seen him in a year and a half, after all. Izaya had been letting him live a peaceful life for so long, so maybe, just maybe-

Just the fact that Shizuo had been considering Izaya's game to be true for a second brought the anger back full force, his eyes narrowing and the vein in his forehead throbbing as he ripped the ATM out of the ground.

_"No! Go the **hell** away, and stay **out** of Ikebukuro, **I-za-ya** -_ **kun** _!"_

Izaya began to run as Shizuo gave chase, an amused expression painting across his face, _laughter_ bubbling from his lips as he jumped away from the flurry of uprooted objects that Shizuo sent flying his way. Yes, he had missed this, but he wasn't giving up yet. He'd find a way to get the other on his good side.

Izaya always got what he wanted eventually, after all!

Tucking himself into his office that night, Izaya sat at his desk, rolling his chair to the picture window that overlooked the city of Ikebukuro with a tired, pleased, smile on his face. That monster would be under his command, soon.

**_It was only a matter of time._ **


	3. the calm before the storm

Across the street from the destruction stood Tanaka Tom, umbrella in hand, rain pattering on the pavement around him as he watched who must have been Izaya run off into the distance. He stepped towards the panting, angry, taller man. A smile crossed his features as he looked at his middle school friend. They hadn't seen each other in a long while, had they?

_How time had passed._

He remembered, in that moment, how nice things had been when he was close friends with Heiwajima Shizuo. They had spent so many days together. Shizuo had eaten lunch with him every day in middle school. They had shared such deep secrets. He had been with Shizuo during his good and bad times, comforting him through breakdowns, seeing him at his angriest-

The memories of soft laughter, of pillow fighting, of watching scary movies in a soft bed with the taller flitted through his mind. A small nostalgic smile crossed his face as he looked at the other. Even when he was his angriest, his presence was just as comforting as Tom had remembered it being during his school days.

It was fitting that they met again like this, really. Their first meeting wasn't as calm as this one, believe it or not. They had met in middle school. Shizuo had been a sight, then, covered in his own sweat and surrounded by unconscious bodies. Tom had known at that moment that he wanted to do everything he could for the other. He wanted to help him.

Tom, even after seeing Shizuo in such a scary scene, had wanted nothing more to be Shizuo's **friend.**

**_"Yo! Shizuo!"_ **

Tom's voice, light and airy, broke through Shizuo's angry haze. His head whipped to the side, the street sign he had recently uprooted falling from his hand, his heart thumping quickly under his skin. He was tired. It had been a long night. He almost thought he was hallucinating the friendly face that he saw in front of him. After all, he hadn't heard from Tom in a long time.

After middle school had ended, they still talked. They met up every week, or so, and studied together. They'd get lunch a lot of the time, too! Those days had been Shizuo's oasis in the desert that was his high school life. Every day Izaya would provoke him in some way. It seemed that the days he had spent with his senpai had been the only days he was happy during his entire high school career.

**"Senpai?"**

The honorific left his lips in his tired shock, only a soft breath, recognition lighting in his eyes before embarrassment flooded his features. This must be disappointing for the older to see, after all. He had worked so hard to get Shizuo's life to calm down, and he had succeeded, but yet again Izaya had shattered that. It wasn't as if Tom didn't know of Shizuo's fights with Izaya, though. He had been more than aware during high school. Actually, it had seemed like that was all Shizuo had spoken of-!

He just hadn't _seen_ it before.

To Shizuo's relief, though, the older didn't seem disappointed at all. He just looked happy to see him. Shizuo approached the other slowly, ignoring the horrified onlookers of the city, a smile on his face. A genuine one! He was happy to have stumbled upon a friend in a city that seemed to be entirely against him lately.

_"I'm glad to see you, Shizuo. **Oi-** Are you interested in getting lunch? I have something I'd like to talk to you about."_

Confusion dressed Shizuo's face at the tone of voice his old friend was using with him. Had he scared him? They used to be so loose around each other, putting things on the table as soon as they met eyes. Hell, they knew nearly _everything_ about each other-! Tom had been his best friend for so long, surpassing even Shinra. He didn't know when things had gotten so formal between them.

Nevertheless, he stepped to Tom's side, nodding his confirmation. They began to walk, the rain continuing it's downpour, Tom and Shizuo catching up as the neon lights and moonlight lit the streets. Everything was calm in the city. It was almost as if nothing had happened at all, but the world was moving in ways that no one could see. It was being altered, piece by piece, as the clock ticked on.

Shizuo walked out of his lunch with Tom a lot happier than he had been when he had entered it. He had a job again! He was going to be working with a close friend of his, too. It was everything he could've wanted, even if the job description called for violence. Tom said that he didn't need to fight. He had claimed that the debtors would likely cough up the debts they owed as soon as they heard his name, but Shizuo doubted that he would go his entire career without hurting someone.

Somehow, though, he was fine with that.

Perhaps, like last time, his life would settle down once Tom made himself present. The other had always been remarkably good at calming him down. Even from their first meeting, he had made Shizuo show a sense of restraint, going so far as to having him bring the unconscious students to the hospital. He had taught Shizuo a lot over the years, making him a better person. Shizuo would always owe something to Tom, even if the other claimed otherwise.

Tom was the best person he knew, really.

Settling down in his shitty apartment, Shizuo lit a cigarette, taking a slow pull from it. Today had been a bag of mixed emotions, hadn't it? He laid himself back, kicking his shoes off, looking at the ceiling and contemplating everything. What was he supposed to do? On one hand, at least this job was steady. Even if he was violent, he knew that Tom wouldn't fire him, and that was something.

With the flea back in his life, though, he might be a lot more violent than what Tom is anticipating... and he didn't want to lose the other money. The older didn't deserve to have to deal with his and Izaya's fights, and he was sure that Izaya was going to make his presence in Ikebukuro more than known as the days moved forward.

Anger bubbled up inside of him, growing like flames, his eyes narrowing as his cigarette burned closer and closer to his fingers. That **_fucker_**. He hated the taste of his name in his mouth, and the sound of it when it was spoken. His life could have been so much better had the noiret been absent from it entirely, but there he had been, hopping through the city and costing him every **bit** of progress he had made.

**_Now he was doing it again!_ **

Izaya could claim again and **again** that he was trying to fix things, but Shizuo wasn't going to buy that shit! He knew he wasn't going to do that. Why the hell would he? Shizuo knew, or he thought he did. Izaya was trying to use him. He was trying to ruin his life, or something, again! Shizuo wasn't going to let it happen.

Izaya was probably still in the city, wasn't he?

Shizuo's eyes narrowed as his ashes fell onto his bed, burning into the blanket. Izaya. He was going to **find** him. He was going to leave this apartment, find him, and fucking finish what he had started. He couldn't risk Izaya ruining yet another job for him. He couldn't have Izaya in this city.

_Just his presence made everything **stink**._

The blonde put out his cigarette, breaking the ashtray with the force of it, getting out of his bed and taking a deep breath. He needed to calm down. He went into his bathroom, turning on his shower, starting to strip his clothes from his body as he waited for the water to heat up. _Shitty shower._

_**Shitty apartment.** _

He stepped under the lukewarm light spray of water.

 

* * *

 

 

Somewhere else, Izaya was **plotting**.

He sat at his computer, scrolling idly through forums, his eyes not quite focusing on the words in front of him. He was focusing on something entirely different at the time. Shizuo. He was trying to find a way to work this out. A way to get Shizuo to trust him. He could really use to have him as a pawn. It was a pain, though, needing to work so hard to get someone under his control.

Humans were certainly much easier to _manipulate._

This was just more proof that Shizuo was a **monster** , in Izaya's eyes.

With that so blatant, he didn't have to worry about being humane with his treatment of the beast. His **feelings** , Izaya thought. He'd target the blonde's feelings, twist them, make them work for him. After all, he knew that the monster was practically controlled by his feelings. Izaya was thankful that he didn't rely on his own as heavily as Shizuo did.

Izaya had learned, from a young age, that feelings weren't really as important as anything else. They were just base **_animalistic_ ** instincts, and the noiret refused to be so utterly **animal** like the rest of his humans. He was something above human, wasn't he? He liked to think that was true. He was nothing like the creatures he studied.

He was more of a **_god_**.

A bitter scoff tore from Izaya's mouth as he looked blankly at the suicide pact forums he was browsing. Everyone else he could make do as he pleased. Every other living being played directly as he instructed them to. If he was the god he thought of himself as, if he was as powerful as he had been proven to be multiple times, then why wasn't Shizuo as obedient as the rest?

_Why couldn't he singlehandedly control him?_

That was what made Shizuo so interesting to him. That was the reason he felt so excited when he thought about him. That was the reason that he was so light on his feet when he thought about getting to see Shizuo again, wasn't it? It was **enticing** , the thought of having Shizuo under his control. Taming that beast was going to be hard, but just the idea of it sent shivers down his spine.

_Shizuo was the one being he wanted to control, and coincidentally, the one that was hardest for him to grasp._

That was why he wasn't going to give up. This was **fun**. This was the first challenge that he had had in a very long time, and he wasn't going to give up on it so easily. He'd have Shizuo under his thumb. He'd make it so that the monster would do whatever he told him to, and that was a fact. It may take some time, but Shizuo would be eating out of his hand by the end of the month, he was sure.

It would be worth it, he reasoned.

After a little bit of research, Izaya was staring at pictures. Pictures of Shizuo. There were hundreds on the internet that were going after him, it seemed, so pictures of him weren't that uncommon, but this one would be of the most use to him. It was posted less than an hour ago, picturing Shizuo and Tom sitting at a table, smiles on their faces.

Not even hours after their fight had ended, and Shizuo had looked so genuinely happy. Whoever this was, he had the monster under his control. All Izaya had to do was find out how they did it.

 _Tanaka Tom,_ was it?

**Izaya knew what he would be doing tomorrow.**


End file.
